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Sorcerer

Sorcerers are people who form arcane power from some source into magical spells, and do so via their own personal awesomeness. There really isn't a unifying theme to Sorcerers outside their specific sources of power, though there is a lot of similarity between sorcerers with the same Power Path.

Making a Sorcerer

Sorcerers are spellcasters. Their place in a party really has a lot to do with what their particular spells are; however, they can generally fill the "arcanist" spot pretty well.

Abilities: A Sorcerer's spellcasting is dependent entirely on their Charisma. That's what really matters.

Races: Anybody could plausibly be a sorcerer, they get powers from all kinds of places.

Alignment: Some sorcerers get powers from demons, some get them from angels, and some get them from fire. There is really no unifying stance that they have about alignment.

Class Features

All of the following are class features of the Sorcerer.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Sorcerers are proficient with all simple weapons. They are not proficient with any type of armor or shield. Armor of any type interferes with a sorcerer’s gestures, which can cause his spells with somatic components to fail.

Spells: A sorcerer casts arcane spells which are drawn from their power path and the sorcerer/wizard spell list. He can cast any spell he knows without preparing it ahead of time, the way a wizard or a cleric must.

To learn or cast a spell, a sorcerer must have a Charisma score equal to at least 10 + the spell level. The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against a sorcerer’s spell is 10 + the spell level + the sorcerer’s Charisma modifier.

Like other spellcasters, a sorcerer can cast only a certain number of spells of each spell level per day. His base daily spell allotment is given on Table: The Sorcerer. In addition, he receives bonus spells per day if he has a high Charisma score.

A sorcerer has three spells per spell level known which are defined by his Power Path. In addition, at every class level above first, a Sorcerer learns a new spell of his choice drawn from the sorcerer/wizard spell list, which may be of any level up to the highest spell level he is able to cast.

Power Path: Every sorcerer derives his or her power from a source, whether it's a mystic principle, a pact with greater powers, or innate magic. These are called Power Paths. Each Power Path defines three spells per level which sorcerers with that Path learn automatically, and an ability that they gain with the first level of the sorcerer class. Each Power Path also defines a few skills which are sorcerer class skills for sorcerers of that Path.

Some sample Power Paths are provided below; new Paths for backgrounds that don't fit with the provided ones should definitely be made.

Familiar: A sorcerer can obtain a familiar. Doing so takes 24 hours and uses up magical materials that cost 100 gp. A familiar is a magical beast that resembles a small animal and is unusually tough and intelligent. The creature serves as a companion and servant.

The sorcerer chooses the kind of familiar he gets. As the sorcerer advances in level, his familiar also increases in power.

If the familiar dies or is dismissed by the sorcerer, the sorcerer must attempt a DC 15 Fortitude saving throw. Failure means he loses 200 experience points per sorcerer level; success reduces the loss to one-half that amount. However, a sorcerer’s experience point total can never go below 0 as the result of a familiar’s demise or dismissal. A slain or dismissed familiar cannot be replaced for a year and day. A slain familiar can be raised from the dead just as a character can be, and it does not lose a level or a Consitution point when this happy event occurs.

A character with more than one class that grants a familiar may have only one familiar at a time; however, these level stack for determining the familiar's abilities.

Sorcerous Technique: At 5th level, every odd class level afterwards, and level 20, a sorcerer learns a technique to enhance his magical powers. Choose one of the following abilities:

Armored Mage: The sorcerer has practiced casting in armor enough that he has an intuition for how to avoid spell failure due to wearing heavy things. He is now proficient with Light armor and may cast in it without suffering arcane spell failure, as a Bard can. This ability may be taken two additional times, which improves the ability to apply to Medium and Heavy armor, respectively (and gain the appropriate proficiency).

Claws of the Ancestors: The sorcerer's heritage manifests as pointy bits made of the sorcerer's own body. He gains two claws and a bite as natural weapons, which deal damage appropriate for the sorcerer's size. These claws are magic weapons (with a +1 enhancement bonus per three character levels) and they use the Sorcerer's Charisma bonus instead of his Strength bonus for all purposes. Once per round, if the sorcerer hits with any of his natural weapons, he may apply one touch-range spell he knows with that weapon (expending the appropriate spell slot as normal).

Counterspell Reflexes: The sorcerer has tuned his magic senses to be able to reflexively counter another spellcaster's magic. He may make a counterspell attempt as an immediate action, as though he had readied an action to do so. Additionally, he gains Improved Counterspell as a bonus feat.

Extra Spell: The sorcerer gains Extra Spell as a bonus feat. Whenever he gains a new spell level, he may change which spell the feat grants. This can be taken multiple times.

Metamagic: The sorcerer gains a bonus [Metamagic] feat for which he meets the prerequisites. This can be taken multiple times.

Mystical Wonders (Su): When the sorcerer casts a spell of lesser power, he may choose to enhance it with a burst of uncontrolled magical power. If casting a spell with a level less than the highest-level spell he knows, he may reduce his caster level for that spell by 2 and add 1d6 caster levels. If the die rolls a 6, a completely unexplained magical effect occurs, as though the Sorcerer had used a Rod of Wonder. The targeting for the effect is as close to the spell's as possible within the parameters of the wondrous effect.

Planar Minion (Su): The sorcerer has reached past the veil of reality and gained the service of a summoned minion. He may attract a creature from another plane than the Prime Material with CR no more than the sorcerer's character level - 4. This creature advances so that it is perpetually 4 CR less than the sorcerer's character level, and should be thematically associated with the Sorcerer's Power Path. The sorcerer may cast or assist with any spell such as raise dead to bring his minion back to life, regardless of whether such spells work on that creature type. If it dies and is not raised, the Sorcerer may choose to attract a new minion. Note that any creature can be made Extraplanar on the Prime by giving it a different plane of origin.

Skill Mastery: The sorcerer gains a deeper understanding of the skills provided by his source of power. When making a skill check using any of his power path skills, he may take 10 even if stress and distractions would normally prevent him from doing so.

Omega Surge: Once per day, a 20th level sorcerer may apply three spell levels' worth of metamagic to a spell at no modification to the spell slot required. These levels also do not affect the casting time of the spell.

Example Power Paths

Aberrant Power

You get power from beyond the spheres, from another world, another time. Your magic is bizarre and strange, outside of what others of your race have experienced.

Scion of Madness (Ex): You may act normally while dazed or confused. This ability does not function if a dazed status was inflicted upon you by a spell that you cast yourself.

Arcane Blood

You have natural magic.

Arcane Bond (Su): You can infuse a relic of power which has the form of an amulet, ring, staff, wand, or weapon. This relic must be worn or wielded to have effect, and if the sorcerer is not using it he requires a DC 20 + spell level Concentration check in order to cast a spell; however, he can use it once per day to cast any spell he knows without expending a spell slot. If destroyed, this can be replaced within a week by performing a ritual. If merely damaged, the item repairs itself when the Sorcerer next recovers expended spell slots. This item can be enhanced as normal for its item type if the Sorcerer has the appropriate item creation ability, but only works for the Sorcerer; if the item has charges, it does not lose its Arcane Bond if and when those charges are expended.

Celestial Power

You have the power of the sacred lands. Your magic may have been blessed by Archons or Eladrin, or it may have come to you by much sketchier means such as drinking Celestial Ambrosia or stealing heavenly fire.

Know Evil (Su): You can see the alignment auras of creatures within 60' of you as if you had been concentrating on an appropriate detect alignment spell or benefited from a divine version of true seeing. This gives you no special ability to see through illusions of any kind however.